economist
Claim “Produce journalism that respects facts and sometimes has radical opinions.” Judging by a recent Economist article on crime issues in Latin America, the London-based publication may lack respect.
May 8th article “How to pacify the world’s most violent regions” begins with a note about a crime in Duran, Ecuador. The homicide rate there last year was 148 per 100,000 residents. The article suggests that Duran is “an example of the worst scourge that has brought misery to Latin America.” Despite being home to just 8% of the world’s population, the region accounts for a third of all murders. ”
The anonymous author suggested that to remedy such a nightmarish situation, Latin American leaders may reflexively resort to the following measures:Mano Dura,Iron fist. ”
“Officials across the region admire and seek to emulate what they call the ‘Bukele model.’ You shouldn’t do that. ”
The Economist author acknowledges that this tough approach to crime has been working in recent years, but points out that El Salvador, from a gang-ravaged and blood-soaked battlefield to a country with fewer murders nationwide than Chicago has experienced, It was concluded that this change was due to the approach to fighting crime. 2018 is not worth trying.
“Officials across the region are glorifying and trying to emulate what they call the ‘Bukele model.’ They should not do that,” the anonymous author wrote.
The article was slammed in a fact-check on Community Notes on X and ridiculed by Bukele himself.
“Bouclé model”
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, 42, was re-elected as president earlier this year with more than 83% of the vote. The party also won an overwhelming victory in the National Assembly, securing 58 of the 60 seats.
A large part of why Bukele was so beloved and popular among Salvadorans is his approach to crime. Bukele views violent crime as a cancer and gangs as a “metastasis” that needs to be excised.
Blaze News previously reported that in 2018, the year before Bukele’s election, there were 51 murders per 100,000 people. Under his leadership, the homicide rate fell to 7.8 by 2022, and the country’s homicide rate that year (495) was lower than the number of homicides reported in Chicago (695) during the same period.
according to According to Reuters, El Salvador’s security authorities observed that murders will fall again in 2023, this time by 70%, bringing the country’s homicide rate to 2.4 per 100,000 people, the highest only in Canada. For comparison, America’s death rate is 8 per 100,000 people.
To achieve this objective, the Bukele government took extreme measures.
surely It suppresses some civil rights and sends more than 1% of the adult population to prison. The anti-crime measures have greatly angered foreign leftists such as Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and liberal publications such as The Economist.
armchair critic model
The anonymous Economist author stated as a matter of fact that the Bukele model “undermines the judicial system and leads to authoritarianism,” before concluding that it “does not work elsewhere.”
The author reasoned that while Bukele-style enforcement worked in El Salvador, it would fail in Mexico and Ecuador because of the capabilities of gangs, including MS-13.
The Economist did not go so far as to say that criminal organizations in other Latin American countries are immune to bullets. Instead, the report notes that they are “much wealthier and better armed, and often have access to assistance from foreign criminal organizations…Such groups can be defeated by force alone.” “is low,” he suggested.
The Economist recommended legalizing the production and consumption of cocaine instead of throwing violent criminals behind bars and on the ground. However, recognizing that that is unlikely to happen, the anonymous author says the government will seek to absolve gangs and bosses with impunity, and instead “aim to deter the most violent members from committing brutal acts.” Proposed.
In addition to government incentives to keep killers from continuing to kill;
Mexico As an example, The Economist recommended relying on police action as opposed to military action. Avoid mass incarceration. and sending children to school.
backlash
When this article was shared by X, it was immediately tagged with a community note linking to a Reuters article highlighting the sharp decline in crime under the Bukele model.
bukele
answered “Gangs are on the rise in Latin America, which is why iron-fist policies won’t defeat them,” the caption read, adding: “We just did it.”
In addition to sharing the article, Bukele said in a follow-up: “In 2023, there was a 70% decline…but since the approval of the exception regime, there has been an 86% decline, and since joining government in 2019, that decline has reached 95%. , in 2024 he is expected to decline by 97%.
Max Kaiser, a senior advisor to Bukele and a so-called Bitcoin bull, said:
tweeted“The restoration of human rights for 6.5 million Salvadorans has virtually eliminated gang violence. El Salvador is now the safest country in the hemisphere. The Economist’s blatant and grotesque journalistic misconduct here is a matter of concern. It’s like it’s getting farther away.”
Blaze News Columnist Aaron McIntyre “The main purpose of reporting is to preach about the evils of living in an orderly and prosperous society.”
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